Our Family's Growing
by Kamije Celeek
Summary: Max has a pretty good life. Gwen and David are supportive parents, Nikki is the best girlfriend he could ask for, and he's on the brink of overcoming his childhood issues. However, a surprise throws a wrench into their plans and brings up new problems that Max didn't even know he would worry about. His little family is about to get a little bit bigger and he better be prepared...
1. No Blood

**A story I haven't seen at all anywhere is a future family for Max and Nikki. I've seen fanart, but not stories, and that makes the shipper in me very sad.**

 **That's what this is. Here's what you guys should know for this story.**

 **Max was adopted by David and Gwen after his summer at Camp Campbell ended. He ended up going to school with a lot of his friends from camp, including Nikki and Neil. Candy and Carl (Nikki's mom and Neil's dad) got married a couple years later. When the main three kids were in high school, Max and Nikki started dating during their junior year. They stayed together all through college and moved in with David and Gwen after graduation to save money for them to start a life together.**

 **Got it? Good.**

 **Let's do this!**

* * *

When you're with someone a long time, you tend to know them inside and out. You know how they act in all different circumstances, and most of the time, you can pick up on when something is wrong. If they're acting differently, you try and figure out what's wrong if you care about the relationship.

That was what was going on with Max and Nikki. After dating for seven years, they knew how to read each other. Nikki knew sometimes, Max would get really depressed and just need a support system to get through the day—a product of the shitty parents and home life he'd had for the first decade of his existence. Max knew how to help Nikki through her time of the month and to stave off calls from her mom and dad.

For the past couple weeks, things had been weird. Nikki had been sick on and off, for starters, and to add to that, she'd been acting the way she did on her period—cravings, mood swings, and the works. However, she hadn't had the monster cramps that he'd come to know from that time of the month. He knew that his longtime girlfriend had boundless energy on a daily basis, but now she was sleeping even longer than him and Gwen.

He'd learned in the past to be careful treading topics, and this was no exception.

"Hey, babe?"

Nikki looked up from her nature guidebook.

"I was wondering… have you figured out what's wrong?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked, marking her page and setting the book down on her nightstand.

"I mean, you've been sick, and things have just been… kinda weird." He refrained from his normal speech pattern to avoid setting her off. "I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine, Max. Trust me." She gave him an odd look. "What do you mean by 'weird'?"

"I mean, you've been acting like you're on your period for two weeks. I'm not a gynecologist or a woman, but I'm pretty sure a period doesn't last longer than a week. And yours only last five days, usually." Nikki felt a little touched that Max paid attention that much, then something occurred to her.

"I haven't been on my period," she realized.

"What?"

"I'm late, Max. My period's late." He knit his eyebrows together, still not getting it. "Max, if my period is late—especially because it's been over a _week_ late—there's a huge possibility that I'm pregnant."

" _What?!_ "

"I can find out if you want."

"Yeah, please do."

"I'll take a test tomorrow." She kissed Max on the cheek and reached for the lamp. "Good night, Max."

She curled up on her side of the bed in the darkness, leaving her boyfriend alone in his thoughts.

* * *

The next morning, the alarm went off and Max switched it off. He'd gotten very little sleep the night before, lying awake for most of the night and thinking about the possibility of becoming a parent. Exhausted, he got out of bed and trudged downstairs, where he found Gwen drinking her morning coffee.

"Morning, Max," she greeted him.

"Morning, Gwen," he sighed, pouring himself a mug.

"What's wrong? You look fucking exhausted."

"I _am_ fucking exhausted. Nikki just dropped a bomb on me last night, and I was awake most of the night thinking about it."

"What was it?"

"Um…" Max scratched the back of his head. "There's the slight possibility that I _might_ have gotten her pregnant."

"Goddammit, Max." Gwen pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. "What have I told you about using protection?"

"We _were_. Nikki's on birth control."

"How often are you guys—"

"I do _not_ want to discuss my sex life with my former counselor and adoptive mother."

"Fine, I get it. But still, don't tell David. He'll get all hyped up and if it turns out to be nothing, it'll crush him."

"I know! Nikki said she'd take a test today, though, so we'll find out by the end of the day."

They sat there in silence while Max drank his coffee before Nikki joined them.

"Morning, Max!" she greeted him. "I've gotta go to work. Bye, Gwen!" She and Max shared a quick kiss before she grabbed her purse. "Love you, Max!"

"Love you, too, Nik!"

And she was out the door.

"Good morning, family!" the ray of sunshine in the family announced, coming down the stairs. "How are we this fine day?"

"Fine, David," Max sighed.

"Did Nikki already leave?"

"Yeah, and I'm leaving in an hour."

"Aw!" David gave him a hug.

"I've gotta get ready." Max shrugged off the hug and put his mug in the sink. "See you guys."

David watched his adoptive son head upstairs and smiled proudly.

"What's got you happier than usual?" Gwen asked.

"I overheard Max and Nikki talking last night, and…" He smiled excitedly. "There's a possibility we might be grandparents, soon!" Gwen raised her eyebrows.

 _Well, so much for not telling David…_

* * *

"Okay," Nikki breathed, sitting down on the bed. She had the pregnancy test in her hand and Max sitting next to her. "This is it."

"Yep," Max agreed. She put her other hand over his.

"Max, promise me you'll stay no matter what the results are."

"Nikki, I've been with you for seven years. If I was going to leave, I would've done it by now. It would also be a _massive_ dick move if I left you while you were pregnant."

"I think it was a _massive_ _dick move_ that got us in this situation in the first place." Max snickered.

"Thanks, babe." The timer Nikki had set up went off and they looked down at the test.

Two pink lines.

"What… does that mean?" Max inquired.

"That means positive." She smiled. "I'm pregnant, Max!"

"Great!"

Inside, Max was terrified. His childhood had been completely shitty and he had _no idea_ how to be a good father. He could _try_ to be like David, but he knew being that ridiculously happy for even a few hours would probably kill him. Hell, he might even kill the kid by accident and he'd go to prison.

"Should we tell Gwen and David?" Nikki asked, kicking her feet.

"Yeah. I let it slip to Gwen this morning that there's a possibility that she'll be a grandmother soon and she bitched at me about using protection."

"Ha!" Nikki set down the test.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

"Max, Nikki, can we come in?" David's cheerful voice came through the door.

"Sure," Max sighed. His adoptive parents entered the bedroom, David looking like he was about to blast off from excitement.

"He overheard you guys last night," Gwen explained with a deadpan expression. "Tell us the results so he can get it out of his system."

"Positive!" Nikki declared, holding up the test. David clapped his hands excitedly and jumped up and down.

"I'm gonna be a grandpa!" he cheered, hugging his family.

"Yeah, it's great!" Gwen laughed. Max chuckled, too.

His family was about to get a bit bigger.

* * *

 **So, real quick before I sign off for the night (last published thing until tomorrow).**

 **Whenever I envision Max becoming a dad—or in this case, finding out he's going to be a dad—I always see him being more worried about it than anybody else, no matter who he's shipped with. Given the shitty upbringing he's hinted at having (no, that they beat into our emotions with a chair like David did to Jacob in that one episode), it's my opinion that he wouldn't see himself as father material. He has no idea how to act around a baby or how to parent one. In this story, he has David, Gwen, Nikki, and even Neil to help him out, but these fears are internal. He's even more scared than Nikki, who's the one** _ **carrying**_ **the damn baby, because he's afraid he's going to fuck it up. However, this Max has had over thirteen years away from his shitty birth parents and with David and Gwen as his adoptive parents. He knows his life is pretty damn good, and he's not going to take that for granted. That will become apparent later on.**

 **Done!**

 **So long and thanks for all the fish!**


	2. Morning Sickness

**You all like this story more than I expected.**

 **Here we go with a second chapter, I guess.**

* * *

"So, when do you want to start telling people?" Gwen asked her adopted son.

"I don't know," he sighed. "Nikki said she wanted to go to the doctor and make sure the test was accurate, you know?"

"Is that where she is now?"

"Yep."

"Hope it was accurate." She noticed Max fiddling with his hands in a nervous manner. "What's wrong?"

"It's just… my life for the first ten years was so fucked up. I got lucky with you and David adopting me. I don't know how to take care of a kid. I don't even know how to act around them. Shit!"

"Well, for starters, maybe tone down the cursing."

" _You're_ one to talk."

"Hey, in my defense, most of you were already using that kind of language."

"Heh. True." Max smiled and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"I was going to check if the spare bedroom was big enough for a crib and all the other shit a baby needs." Gwen gave him a gentle smile.

"I think you're going to be fine as a dad."

"Nikki suggested I do it while she was at the doctor. She's got ridiculously strong maternal instincts."

"Oh, yeah! I remember that one day at camp when you guys took care of the platypus eggs. You two were the only ones left with an egg and had the only one that hatched."

"Until fucking Muack ate it."

"Yeah, but Muack was an asshole. We've all agreed on that."

Max shrugged and headed into the guest room. Memories flooded forward as he looked at the half-finished paint job that had been abandoned a couple years earlier—red and yellow swirling together in a violent and beautiful display.

* * *

 _"So, you guys are graduating soon, huh?"_

 _Max looked up from his coffee and nodded at David's enthusiastic grin._

 _"One month. Then I'll have my degree in business and be able to get a fucking job that pays more than minimum wage."_

 _"Well, I was wondering what you and Nikki's plans are."_

 _"We're planning to graduate and continue with the part-time work until we find actual jobs."_

 _"That's not what I meant. I meant, what are you and Nikki going to do about your living situation? Your apartment was paid for by the school, and once you graduate, the two of you won't have a place to live." Max suddenly understood._

 _"Oh, shit. Right. Well, we could try and find a place, I guess. But it's gonna be tough."_

 _"Say, I have an idea! How about you and Nikki move in with me and Gwen to save money?"_

 _"I dunno, David. Living with my adoptive parents_ and _my girlfriend? That sounds… awkward."_

 _"We_ do _have the room, and we love Nikki! Plus, there's a national park not far from the house. Maybe she could get a job there!"_

 _"Okay, okay." Max tried to hide his smile._

 _"Ooh, yay! Just so you know, your room is_ exactly _how you left it when you went to college…"_

* * *

 _"What the fuck are you doing, David?"_

 _Max was standing in the doorway of what had been the guest bedroom—the room that David was painting red and yellow. He turned and smiled at his son._

 _"I'm getting the room ready for when you and Nikki move in! Your room is right next door, and this is hers! Perfect, right?"_

 _"Yeah, except Nikki and I were going to share my room."_

 _"What?"_

 _It was obvious David thought he was still the kid from Camp Campbell who gave him hell out of a desire for attention and not the fully-grown, red-blooded man that was in front of him._

 _"I-I'm sorry. I just assumed…"_

 _"David, I've been with Nikki for five years. We appreciate the thought, but it'd be awkward."_

 _"Oh… sure. Sorry." Max glanced at the half-finished job._

 _"Paint looks good, though. Chaotic."_

 _"I thought Nikki would like it."_

 _"She would. How about we do it in my room, though, with yellow and blue?"_

 _David smiled._

* * *

The room had been meant for Nikki. Now it was for his kid. It was plenty big enough for a baby and conveniently located right next to their room. If the kid woke up, screaming to be changed or fed, they'd be right there. Of course, given David's chronic insomnia, it was more likely that he would get there first. Whatever. David hadn't had the chance to raise a kid from infancy, and Max wasn't going to stop him from being a doting grandfather. He headed back to the living room, where he discovered Gwen had left. Having nothing else to do, he sat down on the couch and took out his phone to do an Internet search.

"Hey, I'm home!"

He jumped at Nikki's voice.

"Hey, Nikki!" he greeted her. "How'd it go?"

"The doctor did some tests and confirmed it. I'm about a month and a half along, so we have plenty of time to prepare."

"David and Gwen already said we could use the former guest room as the nursery."

"Great!" She leaned over the back of the couch and kissed him on the cheek. "We can start telling people soon, right?"

"Uh… sure." The excitable woman frowned.

"Max, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just… I kinda wanted to just share it with you and David and Gwen for a bit."

"Aw! You're so sweet! _Whoa_!"

She fell over the couch and landed next to him, almost on his lap. He laughed at his girlfriend and gave her a gentle hug.

"We'll start telling people in a couple days," he promised.

* * *

"Well, this is a surprise."

Nikki looked up at the sound of her mother's voice. Max had let the woman in and was giving Nikki an apologetic expression.

"Hey, Mom!" She ran over and hugged her.

"Nicolette, are you alright? You never want me over here…"

"I'm fine, Mom. Trust me!" They sat down and Max excused himself to get some refreshments: coffee for himself and Candy and hot chocolate for Nikki. "How have things been?"

"They've been fine! Carl and I's anniversary is comin' up soon." Max set the mugs out and sat down on the couch next to Nikki. "Speakin' of weddin's, any word on when you two will be tyin' the knot?"

Max choked on his coffee.

"Mom, not yet!" Nikki sighed, patting Max on the back as he recovered from choking. Candy giggled.

"Well, there's no rush, sweetheart. You're both young. No need to settle down yet."

"There's actually a reason we asked you to come over, though." Nikki rested a hand on her belly. "We're having a baby. You're gonna be a grandma."

Candy's jaw dropped.

"I-I am? Nicolette, that's amazin'!" She hugged her daughter tightly and motioned for Max to join the hug. "I'm sure you two have a plan, though—you had one after college. Oh, won't Carl be excited?! Have you told Neil yet?"

"Not yet," Max replied. "He's coming over later for movie night, so we'll tell him then."

"Great! You mind if I tell Carl?"

"Not at all."

After a bit more talking (in which Candy asked to be more included in their lives), Nikki's mom left the young couple alone. That didn't last long, because Neil showed up about ten minutes later. He had the popcorn and snacks, as usual, along with a movie since it was his turn to pick.

"So, what'd you pick this week?" Max asked in a deadpan tone with his arm around Nikki.

"I picked a movie that a friend of mine recommended. She said it's a marvel of mechanics, puppetry, and practical effects."

"Your friend sounds like a nerd."

"She's a movie enthusiast, especially when it comes to horror movies. According to her, this is a horror parody musical."

"What is it?" Nikki groaned. "You're leaving us in suspense!"

" _Little Shop of Horrors_."

"I've… heard of it," Max admitted. "Isn't that the one with the plant?"

"Yep! Rosemary said the plant is entirely done with puppetry—no CGI whatsoever!"

"I find that hard to believe."

"I did, too, but she promised that this version has a behind-the-scenes look at how they made it move!"

"Pop it in."

"Actually," Nikki interrupted. "We have something we need to tell you, Neil."

"Are you two _finally_ getting married?"

"No," both of his friends answered.

"We're having a baby," Nikki added.

"Oh, well, I knew that."

"What?!" they both yelped.

"I'm going to medical school! They teach us about this stuff, and Nikki's been hormonal for _weeks_ now. Either she was going through menopause—unlikely, given she's in her early twenties—or she was pregnant."

"Whatever. Let's watch the stupid movie," Max grumbled.

The movie itself was a little slow-paced but campy in a 'B-horror movie from the fifties' sort of way. Even the music made the three bob their heads to the beat, though the giant, man-eating alien plant made it even better.

"I refuse to believe that's a puppet," Max told Neil bluntly.

"I know, right?" Neil agreed. "Rosemary said she didn't know it was a puppet until she looked up who animated it!" Max noticed that there were a few Twizzlers left and picked them up.

"Hey, Nik," he said. "Want some Twizzlers?"

The smell of the candy reached Nikki's nose and she gagged.

"No, thanks. I feel like I'm gonna barf. The smell…" She covered her mouth and ran to the bathroom.

"What the fuck? She _loves_ Twizzlers… unless you got Red Vines?" Max glared at Neil.

"Hell, no! I made that mistake in high school during Shark Week—I am _never_ making it again!" Max could hear Nikki retching in the bathroom and got up out of concern. She was hunched over the toilet, panting.

"Hey, babe, you okay?"

"Sorry, Max… I just really had to puke."

"I get it."

"My body wouldn't let me eat Twizzlers!" she whimpered. "I can't deal with that! I can't!"

She gagged again and turned her face back towards the toilet. Max held her hair out of the way, ensuring that she wouldn't get chunks in her hair. Once that was done, they headed back out into the living room, where Neil was watching the puppetry feature on the DVD.

"Oh, hey!" he greeted them, pausing the screen. "I found out how they did it! Apparently, Rick Moranis lip-synched his lines at half-speed and they sped it up in the final product!"

"Great. How about why Nikki couldn't eat her favorite candy?" Max asked.

"Oh, that. Well, during pregnancy, tastes change. It's all according to hormones and the nutrients the baby needs. Also, the reason she threw up is simply morning sickness. Nothing to worry about unless it turns into _hyperemesis gravidarum_." Both gave him an odd look. " _Severe_ morning sickness."

"I thought you were trying to become a surgeon or something," Nikki commented, looking confused.

"I am, but when I figured out you were pregnant, I started looking stuff up about it. Morning sickness starts around week 4 or 5 and lasts until about week 14."

"How many weeks _are there_?" Max inquired.

"40. But don't worry! According to experts, morning sickness actually _lowers_ the chances of having a miscarriage or stillbirth!"

"The _fuck_?!"

"Oh, _relax_ , Max. You and Nikki should talk to her doctor about this stuff, though—never too early! And you might wanna get an ultrasound done every month and a half or so to check on the baby's progress."

"I got one done last week," Nikki replied. "They made me drink like a gallon of water before they did it, so I really had to pee afterwards."

"As long as you guys aren't too reckless, you won't have to worry about anything!"

That did _not_ help Max's nerves. Neil finished watching the puppetry feature and took the DVD out.

"I'd better return this to Rosemary. It's her favorite movie."

* * *

After Neil left, Max took a shower and headed up to bed, where Nikki was reading something on her tablet.

"Whatcha reading?" he asked.

"I'm reading up on pregnancy stuff. Apparently, coffee is bad for a developing fetus? Oh, and I can't mess with animal feces. It carries diseases."

"Nikki, you are a goddamn _park ranger_. You handle animal shit _all the fucking time_."

"Well, I have to stop… at least until I'm done breastfeeding."

"Do we have to discuss this now?"

"No, but we really should be better informed on this. Raising a baby is different from hatching a platypus egg."

"Yeah, because I actually care about the baby."

"Why does it seem like we always have these talks right before bed?"

"Because we're two fucked-up people who want to clear their minds before sleeping."

"True." She put the tablet on the charger and kissed Max. "Night!"

"Night."

* * *

 **I can already tell I'll be doing a lot of pregnancy research for this story, since it's my first time writing about a pregnancy in its entirety. And that thing about morning sickness is an actual thing experts have said. Also, after the events of 'Nikki's Last Day on Earth', I had the headcanon that Nikki's favorite candy is Twizzlers.**

 **Next time, Max confronts Nikki's mood swings… times ten.**

 **So long and thanks for all the fish!**


End file.
